MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (ag), Irfaan Ali, is anticipating that the US, Canadian and Caribbean markets will continue to be Guyana’s main source of visitor arrivals which will lead to further growth, and that there will be a dramatic increase in visitors from Brazil and Suriname.

“Barring any regional or international unforeseen economic or social trauma in 2013, the indicators of Guyana’s tourism performance should continue to move in a positive direction,” Minister Ali noted. Additionally, visitor arrivals are expected to increase by 20 percent, while there is optimism that more investors and investments will be had. He was at the time speaking during his budget debate presentation on Tuesday in the National Assembly.
An anticipated 20 percent increase in passenger arrivals in 2013 will translate into increases in occupancy levels, visits to attractions and resorts, visitor expenditure and revenue generation, benefits for hinterland communities, investments, recognition of destination Guyana, job creation, and improved standard of living and quality of life for Guyanese.
“We are confident that tourism distribution will be expanded and that we will record growth as tourism will continue to make a larger contribution to Guyana’s GDP, create more jobs, generate more income and revenue,” Minister Ali indicated.
With regard to increasing the tourism numbers, the ministry’s strategic focus will be to engage in tourism destination marketing campaigns, participate in trade shows, host familiarisation tours, PR through films and documentaries, engage airlines for direct flights to Guyana from the U.S; Canada, Barbados, Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela, promote niche products, business and sports tourism, and host world class quality events and celebrity entertainment events.
These aspirations, however, come with challenges. Nevertheless, Minister Ali noted that the ministry is prepared to overcome them so as to accelerate gains for Guyana. Some of the challenges are airlift, packaging, intra-Caribbean and South American travel (multi-destination travel), integrated tourism, limited budget, litter and garbage control, and price and affordability of domestic travel.
In this regard, “Guyana is striving to consistently improve its competitiveness through the implementation of the tourism regulations, training and capacity building, service excellence, positioning as a unique destination, offering quality products, services and experiences, facilities and amenities, implementation of international standards, best practices and benchmarks,” Minister Ali emphasised.
He explained that Guyana is endowed with world class attractions; hence focus will be on improving the destination’s competitiveness.
Minister Ali acknowledged that the diaspora accounts for the largest share of visitors to Guyana, and they play a critical role in tourism development, and are also the largest and most accessible target for Guyana.
“The diaspora is a valuable resource for Guyana and their connection with the homeland should be harnessed to bring economic, social, cultural, political, technological and environmental benefits to Guyana… my ministry is fully aware of this potential market, and 2013 will see strategic engagements with the diaspora,” he said.
Further the diaspora contributes significantly to tourism in terms of expenditure on tours, hotel and resort stay, and attendance at events, investments, shopping, dining and transportation.
In light of the potential for increased passenger arrivals, the ministry will be encouraging investments in extreme adventure sports, such as hot air ballooning, bungee jumping, paragliding and medical and educational tourism.
The ministry has already secured a world class daredevil and sky-diver from Portugal to do extreme adventure sports off the Kaieteur Falls.